More Questions on Those Scam Hunts in Hungary

Published: April - 2012

Our recent coverage on those scam hunts in Hungary has knocked loose more feedback from subscribers. This time the questions focus on the canned hunting aspect of the activities we reported. The question raised is, "How do the hunts we condemned in central Europe differ from the high-fenced operations in Texas, Saskatchewan, Argentina and New Zealand?" One subscriber points out that the ads for these operations all focus on food, ambience, not needing a hunting license and other aspects of the operation, all while showcasing photos of monstrous trophies. Isn't this essentially what those Danish hunters got in Hungary?

Well, yes and no. The difference between what happened in Hungary and the vast majority of high-fenced operations is clearly the intended and calculated deception by a hunting operator with the goal of milking clients for big money. These particular operators reportedly represented their hunts as fair-chase, free-range affairs. What they provided was completely the opposite. The trophies were pen-raised, not free-range animals. In some cases they were apparently shot in well-camouflaged enclosures, making the hunter believe he was hunting in a free-range area. In other cases it appears the animal was drugged and released in a pre-arranged area where the "guide" was taking the hunter. The "trophies" taken were also artificially manipulated to grow monstrous and unusual racks, and the hunters were charged stratospheric prices for them. That makes these much more than canned hunts. That makes these hunts a scam in every sense.

Openly representing a hunt as an estate or fenced hunt to potential clients is one thing. Knowingly booking a trip to a fenced enclosure and knowingly shooting an animal that has been raised in a protected environment in order to produce an exceptional rack, is not what the hunters in our story did. They were intentionally deceived, and that makes all the difference in the world.

As we said last month, The Hunting Report is not taking a position on fenced-enclosure hunting. We know there are strong opinions and well thought out arguments on both sides of this........(continued)